41 – Secret revealed, journey together (2)
“How much longer do we have to walk – “
“I’ll keep walking until the sun sets.”
I can’t return to the village, I can’t pray for the peace of those who have been reduced to charcoal,
I continued walking along the mountain path where the shadows slowly faded.
My feet were numb and my calves were stiff –
Still, there was no sign of stopping.
“Wow?!”
In the end, it was only for an instant that my leg, which had reached its limit, went astray, and in an instant, my body fell backwards.
“Please be careful.
I’m already going to die, so please don’t create streets that will cause me even more pain.”
She grabbed her arm and pulled her back up, rubbing her hands in the wet dirt.
It was even bizarre to see them rubbing it roughly, as if washing it with water, and then dusting it off.
“…Even if you get hurt, I won’t get hurt – “
“That’s extremely naive.
If there is even a single scratch on your body, it will immediately be my fault.”
“Such…”
“Trust me. I’ve seen it burn.
I didn’t know that something like this would happen again, even worse…”
Her body trembled violently, as if some terrible memory had come back to her.
Soon she wiped off the brown stains on her hands and sighed, looking around.
“I can’t help it. I have no choice but to rest for a while.
If you get seriously hurt like this… hahahaha, I don’t even want to think about it.”
It was becoming a nuisance. Clearly.
It was unfair, but at the same time, it was very clear that it was my fault.
Time and time again, her mother tried to come closer to me.
I was the one who threw it away, and I was the one who took her hand away from her.
She was a mother who never got angry with me.
This time, he came to me with a gentle smile… But everyone else ended up either dead or seriously injured.
It felt like the goal I had set was torn to shreds before my eyes.
“Magic – no, don’t use it.
If you have been scented this much, then your magical power – mana – well, either way.
Because you must be very sensitive.
If I hadn’t quickly removed your scent with that powder – I would have been the one who got beat up like that.”
There was nothing to say to her as she shuddered with her pale face.
It was Mr. Luterrier who ended up in this situation because of me.
There’s probably nothing I can do for you.
“It’s okay, if you keep saying things like this, it’s going to get painful.
Do you know how to make a fire?”
“…Ah, yes. I lit a lot of fires when I was young, so I think all I need is a flint.”
“Here, I’ll give you a bush too. There’s a bunch of well-dried hair here, so use that.”
In her hands, Yeojin held a handful of golden fur and two pieces of black stone.
Unlike the soft and shiny hair and tail, this one looked quite dull.
“…First, I’ll take a look around.
If I don’t come, I can guess the reason – “
“Mr. Luterrier.”
It was a very short moment.
I saw what my mother, or Rosaria, or the evil dragon did.
Of course, even I couldn’t get over the shock, but Mr. Luterrier was hurt quite a bit.
His face, mind, and heart were all completely ruined.
The pale face was especially dark with bluish shadows, so it wouldn’t look strange even if it died right away.
The words were full of despair, and they continued to drag me down heavily.
“Stay here. I think it’s right for you to rest here.”
“Oh, no. Whenever I set up camp, I have to go out and scout…”
“I don’t think I can do anything in that state.”
You can’t say it’s wrong, but
This situation should not have continued.
I felt like I was going to collapse if I didn’t rest right away, so I immediately put my hand on my shoulder.
“Ugh?!”
“As you said, if Mom finds us, we’ll probably be dead anyway, right?
If the result isn’t going to change anyway, I think it’s better to try to prevent that result as much as possible.”
“Cow, hand – “
“If you promise to rest right now, I’ll give it to you.”
As I gently massaged my stiff shoulders, I saw the drooping corners of my eyes twitch.
I guess I didn’t have the strength to take it off right away, so I couldn’t raise my trembling hand even though it was glaring at me.
“…Yeah, you’re right.
One way or another, I will die. “It would be better to just be comfortable.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she sat down and started taking something out of her small bag.
In the meantime, I collected the branches that had fallen on the ground little by little and put them down.
The brown sticks that take the shape of the bonfire as they come and go.
It was a while to look at the shape that was stably embedded under a slightly dug hole.
“Did you collect everything? I also scraped together a little bit from around me.”
“I know how to make a fire, but I don’t know how much it is needed.
The one who piled it up is Mr. Luterrier…”
“Then gather a little more and come back. I think it’s almost done.”
Is it possible for my face to become bright again like that just by resting for a while?
My eyes caught a glimpse of her tail, which was starting to flutter again –
“Go quickly and come back. We have things to talk about and we need to eat dinner.
When it gets too dark, you can’t even light a fire.”
“Ah, ㄴ, yes!”
She gently hid her tail and immediately took her seat in response to the scolding that came with a bitter smile.
When enough had been collected and neatly placed down the hole, I took the flint to the fur ball and hit the bush with it.
With just a few strokes, the orange stars crackled and bounced, soon dyeing the golden thread red –
“Tskchaa…”
I lightly moved it to a piece of wood and immediately placed it carefully on the bundle inside the bonfire.
It was a long time since I had used these tools, but despite this, the fire that was lit smoothly all at once began to gently lick the surrounding wood.
“Are you doing better than I thought?”
“I’ve been fighting against the cold ever since I was young.
My job was always wrestling with firewood.”
Things that occurred before I met ‘Mom’ came to mind.
Memories of the time I lived alone with my grandmother began to resurface one by one.
“Is that why you have so many scars on your hands?”
“Scar – Oh, yes. That’s right. When did you see it?”
A wound caused by cutting one’s hand while striking it with a flint.
Deep marks from thorns while holding an axe.
Even cutting down trees while scraping them thinly to start a fire.
Everything remained in my hands.
…Although the calluses have cleared off since being with her mother.
“‘Contrary to how much your mother cares for you, I don’t think you grew up that well.
It would be natural for it to be adoption…
So. Tell me a story.
That dragon… My guests say it’s a dragon – what kind of relationship do you have with that woman?”
As the fire grew, it began to send soft orange and yellow stars high into the black sky.
Fortunately, the acrid smoke did not come towards me or Mr. Luterrier, so it seemed like there would be no problem in talking for a long time.
“This is going to be a really long story, but… Okay, I’ll tell you.
Since we got caught anyway, it might be right to tell you everything.”
So carefully, I began to unravel the bundle of stories.
She couldn’t make the flames dance on her hands like her mother did,
At least there was no problem expressing my happiest moments with hand gestures and foot gestures.
That’s how I portrayed the days when I truly thought of the red dragon as my ‘mother’.
Everything from the moment I learned magic to the time I got lost in infinite space.
***
“…That’s a great story.”
“There’s nothing really wrong.”
“No, it’s amazing. You were taught directly by a dragon who freely uses magic.
People like that are really rare. The dragons were what even my skilled visitors snorted and ignored.
Of course, sometimes I try to keep people by my side by giving them my blessings.”
“…Keeping it by your side means – “
“No, it doesn’t necessarily happen like you.
Of course, it happens sometimes – but it’s something that only comes down in legends.
Especially after the dragon-hunting knights committed such a big mistake, we don’t even have much contact anymore.”
The orange light spread softly across the blue eyes, then illuminated the darkness again.
Let out a thin breath, swallow your saliva once, and –
“Actually, it’s the rabbit beast I was talking about.
You have a wizard’s daughter… And a son?
But according to the rumors, it seems like he is receiving quite strong protection.
Of course, I’m not saying that she married a dragon. I did it on my own.
She is so famous that rumors spread throughout the city –
Anyway. It’s complicated to explain.
Our goal is to get the woman, or whether she is her son or her daughter… To get her help.
Ah, I never thought I would say this.”
I ended my long speech with a sigh.
Despair once again appeared on his face as he gently pressed two fingers between his eyes.
“Who is that person, no, Suin, that you hate so much?”
“Just as much as your mother, no, maybe a little less.
At least he didn’t try to kill me.
No, if that woman’s husband hadn’t stopped me, I might have actually been stabbed.
Anyway, no, hahahaha… Why do I get caught up in this kind of thing everywhere I go…”
It didn’t look good to see him continuing to sigh and not be able to continue the story.
But she couldn’t voice her dissatisfaction.
Because it was very clear why this happened.
“I’m sorry, I just keep talking to myself about you.
To put it roughly, I was trying to help a man whose prosthetic leg was broken, and when I touched his hand, I got all the hate in the world.
Why can’t you just touch your own husband? I can’t even see with my own eyes that the other person is there.
He said that he was a thief who shamelessly tried to steal other people’s things at will, and put his hand on the sheath of his sword.
…I received the apology. Huh.
Although it was small, I received some compensation.
Passers-by were talking casually and leaving. The famous rabbit… No.
I am a person who needs help now, but saying things like this is also a problem.”
“Is that person, Suin…? What’s his name?”
Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps,
She shook off her tail, her body, and her head, yawned once loudly, and-
“… Anneli Michelle. She was originally Ellie Michelle.
Her husband, her guest, had a rather unusual last name, so I couldn’t bring myself to change it.
I threw a branch into the fire.
The fire burning a little louder brightened up the darkness.
Like illuminating the place you need to go.